On Feb. 5, the Salisbury Township School Board operations committee met to discuss several key topics, mainly in connection with the budget and fiscal results and status for 2019 and 2020 to date.

First, there was a presentation by Zach Williard from PFM Financial Management, based out of Harrisburg. He reviewed refinancing options with the committee on the bonds taken out by the district.

Willard told the board interest rates are at an all-time low. In the past, a dollar amount for savings has been assigned as a threshold for whether or not to refinance. The way rates stand now, the district could stand to save in the neighborhood of $100,000 if they refinance.

If the board passes this resolution, it would need to be in motion by March 18.

CPA, Chief Financial Officer/Board Secretary Michael Taylor said passing the resolution would not tie the board to moving forward with refinancing, but simply would open up that pathway as an option.

If the board decides to adopt this course, they will notify PFM prior to March 18 and a representative will return to a future meeting to help the board go over specific options for the bonds eligible for refinancing.

In other business, William Brackett, director of facilities, outlined a mutual aid agreement in coordination with Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority. In the event students from district schools need to be evacuated to an offsite location, it could prove difficult to dispatch Salisbury school buses across the district. LANTA has agreed to provide use of their buses when possible, should they be needed, for this purpose. This agreement would not entail any type of fee or charge for services rendered.

Brackett also reported on the status of two major district projects: stadium repairs at the high school and the construction of the access ramp at the middle school. Contractors have already been on site at both locations to begin preliminary work.

Completion dates on the projects will be dependent on weather during the summer season and there is a concern about fall sports in connection with use of the stadium. Brackett said he is currently in talks with Monica Deeb, director of student activities, regarding contingency plans.

Also at the high school, roof repairs estimated at a cost of $390,000 have been assigned a final value of $365,000. As of right now, a start date has not been established.

Next on the agenda was a presentation by Taylor on fiscal year 2019 results and the status of the current fiscal year. He said 2019 ended with a deficit of $2,385,189, which is in sharp contrast to the budgeted deficit of $580,000. The fund balance was used to offset the difference. This difference comes as a result of a $568,000 tax revenue shortfall, $760,000 tuition and special education expenditure overage and a repairs and maintenance overage of $584,000 – $300,000 of which was for mold remediation at Western Salisbury Elementary School.

Looking more closely at these figures, the tax shortfall comes from an initial assessment of taxing at $1,330,277,700 but the actual amount coming in at only $1,316,695,800. The collection rate stands at 97.8 percent, which Taylor said is actually quite good, with the typical percent for Pennsylvania school districts landing between 96-98 percent.

In addition, as noted previously, special education costs continue to rise beyond budgeted figures. These numbers continue to grow year over year, but Taylor mentioned the school district has not been keeping pace with these trends. Next year, this growth will be taken more deeply into account.

He said building maintenance costs continue to be high, with repairs needed due to mold and outdated HVAC systems in use. For the 2020 fiscal year, the district is working closely with Berkheimer tax administrators to ensure tax assessment lines in the budget are more accurate than in previous years to keep the budget in tighter shape.

While the 2020 fiscal year is still young, and seems to be in a favorable spot currently, charges and additional line items are expected to come up that may push the budget into the red.

Taylor also provided a full-color dashboard with indicators for the budget progress. The committee members had an extremely positive reaction to this and appreciated this addition to budget tracking.

In light of more extreme shortfalls in the budget, board president George Gatanis mentioned he had asked the administration to look at a building reorganization within the district.

Pending results of a full report, Superintendent Dr. Randy Ziegenfuss proposed a possible closure of Western Salisbury Elementary School.

This would involve changing the middle school to house grades five through eight and Harry S Truman Elementary School to house kindergarten through fourth grades for the district. The report should include details on whether or not this is a viable, practical option. It was said money to shore up the budget will be needed, and must come from somewhere.

If this route does not prove advantageous, a cut to staff or programs may be necessary. There will be a period for public comment if this plan moves forward and the operations committee will review next steps at the March 4 meeting.